I need cool opening scene for adventure! [Archive] - Wizards Community

I need cool opening scene for adventure! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Glupinickname
05-06-06, 03:52 AM For about year and a half now, I am running a D&D game in Eberron Campaign Setting. PCs - which are now around 8th level - are working as private investigators and bodyguards in Sharn.

I'm planning to start relatively short series of adventures: three or four adventures about Children of the Winter as bad guys. What I want from these adventures is to be exicting, dark and with sufficiently pulpy feel to them. Movies like "Brotherhood of the Wolf", "The Shadow" and "Hellboy" spring to my mind.

Now, what I'm lacking is a cool opening scene or a fight, something that will grab the attention of players and set the tone for the rest of these several adventures. The only idea I got so far is this: the PCs are hired to guard a conference of various representatives of House Cannith. Guildmasters discuss their bussiness in large conference hall. Suddenly, you see a bunch of four - armed albino gorillas!They're climbing the walls of the tower! They crash through the windows! They attack the guildmasters! Now, roll initiative.

Albino gorillas of doom (and I was actually thinking of calling the adventure like that) are sent by evil druids to kill the guildmasters and only the PCs can stop them. After the attack there would be an investigation and the sinister plot would being to unravel. The only problem with this idea is that at the time it seemed so silly to me that I mentioned it to several of my players as a joke. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it actually had just the right over - the - top pulpy tone that I wanted to bring into my adventures.

I clearly cannot just go on using this idea so I would need your help to invent something similary cool and dangerous and even slightly silly. Something sufficiently pulpy that it practically screams titles and captions written in caps lock. :)
DoveArrow
05-06-06, 12:20 PM I honestly don't see what's wrong with your idea. Granted, albino gorillas of doom is kind've a silly name for an adventure, but just because it's a silly name, doesn't make the adventure any less exciting. I say stick with what you have. It's a seriously good idea.
jonthegm
05-06-06, 01:12 PM If you're going with the children of winter, I'd use swarms of cockroaches, or a bunch of Huge spiders. Or both!

Suddenly, screams and indignant shouts go up from around the guildhall. People race in random directions away from some unseen menace. Suddenly, the roast in front of you shudders open to reveal a horde of fat black cockroaches. As you jump back from the food in disgust, the windows of the guildhall shatter inward. Huge arachnid shapes move with strange grace down the walls. Roll for initiative.
Glupinickname
05-07-06, 12:14 PM I honestly don't see what's wrong with your idea.
The fact that I mentioned the idea to the two out of four players. :( As I said, I thought of the idea silly at first and mentioned it as such to some of the players and now, when I changed my mind, I'm slightly worried that, if I actually use the idea, it won't be as cool or unexpected as it could be.

But even if I go with the albino gorillas idea, here I the place I can fish for some other ideas that might be cool and usable in my Sharn adventures with Children of Winter. If anyone's interested I can describe some other ideas I'm toying with for this adventures. :)

This writing is a nice therapy: IRL ,all of the guys I regulary discuss RPGs are my players so I cannot realy bounce my own adventure ideas from them, and local RPG forum which I regulary read has very low traffic.
Glupinickname
05-07-06, 12:22 PM If you're going with the children of winter, I'd use swarms of cockroaches, or a bunch of Huge spiders. Or both![/i]
I already used spiders but cochroaches or beetles might be a cool idea. I was also thinking of something much more spectacular: maybe the evil druids and clerics use their Eldritch Machine of Portal Opening (which is important for later adventures) to open a short - term portal to Lammania, the Twilight Forrest. As PCs arrive in the morning to take their shift protecting the guildsmen. Suddenly, Cannith Tower shakes as if in the earthquake (which would be logical effect of cutting of the effects of Syrania Manifest Zone, even for a short while). That seases very quickly, but suddenly, all sorts of large plants and trees start growing all over the tower while dinosaurs and carnivorous plants materialise inside the tower. Pandemonium ensues while the PCs try to get to the conference room and escort the guildmasters outside while fighting wild wild beasts, bugs and plants but also with House Cannith protective traps and construtcs already maddened by all the wildlife inside the tower.
Belabras
05-07-06, 01:01 PM Two words -- Horrid Cockroaches.
jonthegm
05-08-06, 01:50 AM Two words -- Horrid Cockroaches.

Four words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches.
Napoleon98
05-08-06, 03:12 AM Four words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches.

Six words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches sounds AWESOME!

3 more words: I want in :D
Glupinickname
05-08-06, 12:28 PM While we're at it, what monsters could you recommend as opponents for the party? I'm already set on using flesh-eating plants: I even plan on setting a small dungeon crawl in a gigantic glasshouse at top of one of the Sharn towers). Shifter barbarians would be nice as humanoid opponents. And yes, horrid animals will definitely appear. What else? Remember, these adventures are for the 8th level character and will possibly progress up to 10th level during adventures.
Naudachu
05-08-06, 01:24 PM As far as high level vermin and plants:
- some of the larger Monstrous Centipedes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monstrousCentipede.htm) or Monstrous Scorpions (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monstrousScorpion.htm)
- maybe a large group of Giant Stag Beetles (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/giantStagBeetle.htm)
- a Hellwasp Swarm (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/swarm.htm#hellwaspSwarm)
- a couple Tendriculi (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/tendriculos.htm) or Shambling Mounds (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shamblingMound.htm)
- a deadly Razorboar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/razorBoar.htm)
- a few Spider Eaters (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/spiderEater.htm)

...and that's just from the MMI. I remember an Orcwort tree being in one of the Monster Manuals, but I don't remember the CR. But it would give you hordes of minions for the PCs to wade through.

You could even have an Aranea (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/aranea.htm) with some class levels as a villian.

EDIT: Vermin are listed at the bottom of this list (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablesort=4). Only a few CR 8-10. Or better yet here (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablesort=4&tablefilter=vermin).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Glupinickname 05-06-06, 03:52 AM	For about year and a half now, I am running a D&D game in Eberron Campaign Setting. PCs - which are now around 8th level - are working as private investigators and bodyguards in Sharn. I'm planning to start relatively short series of adventures: three or four adventures about Children of the Winter as bad guys. What I want from these adventures is to be exicting, dark and with sufficiently pulpy feel to them. Movies like "Brotherhood of the Wolf", "The Shadow" and "Hellboy" spring to my mind. Now, what I'm lacking is a cool opening scene or a fight, something that will grab the attention of players and set the tone for the rest of these several adventures. The only idea I got so far is this: the PCs are hired to guard a conference of various representatives of House Cannith. Guildmasters discuss their bussiness in large conference hall. Suddenly, you see a bunch of four - armed albino gorillas!They're climbing the walls of the tower! They crash through the windows! They attack the guildmasters! Now, roll initiative. Albino gorillas of doom (and I was actually thinking of calling the adventure like that) are sent by evil druids to kill the guildmasters and only the PCs can stop them. After the attack there would be an investigation and the sinister plot would being to unravel. The only problem with this idea is that at the time it seemed so silly to me that I mentioned it to several of my players as a joke. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it actually had just the right over - the - top pulpy tone that I wanted to bring into my adventures. I clearly cannot just go on using this idea so I would need your help to invent something similary cool and dangerous and even slightly silly. Something sufficiently pulpy that it practically screams titles and captions written in caps lock. :)
DoveArrow 05-06-06, 12:20 PM	I honestly don't see what's wrong with your idea. Granted, albino gorillas of doom is kind've a silly name for an adventure, but just because it's a silly name, doesn't make the adventure any less exciting. I say stick with what you have. It's a seriously good idea.
jonthegm 05-06-06, 01:12 PM	If you're going with the children of winter, I'd use swarms of cockroaches, or a bunch of Huge spiders. Or both! Suddenly, screams and indignant shouts go up from around the guildhall. People race in random directions away from some unseen menace. Suddenly, the roast in front of you shudders open to reveal a horde of fat black cockroaches. As you jump back from the food in disgust, the windows of the guildhall shatter inward. Huge arachnid shapes move with strange grace down the walls. Roll for initiative.
Glupinickname 05-07-06, 12:14 PM	I honestly don't see what's wrong with your idea. The fact that I mentioned the idea to the two out of four players. :( As I said, I thought of the idea silly at first and mentioned it as such to some of the players and now, when I changed my mind, I'm slightly worried that, if I actually use the idea, it won't be as cool or unexpected as it could be. But even if I go with the albino gorillas idea, here I the place I can fish for some other ideas that might be cool and usable in my Sharn adventures with Children of Winter. If anyone's interested I can describe some other ideas I'm toying with for this adventures. :) This writing is a nice therapy: IRL ,all of the guys I regulary discuss RPGs are my players so I cannot realy bounce my own adventure ideas from them, and local RPG forum which I regulary read has very low traffic.
Glupinickname 05-07-06, 12:22 PM	If you're going with the children of winter, I'd use swarms of cockroaches, or a bunch of Huge spiders. Or both![/i] I already used spiders but cochroaches or beetles might be a cool idea. I was also thinking of something much more spectacular: maybe the evil druids and clerics use their Eldritch Machine of Portal Opening (which is important for later adventures) to open a short - term portal to Lammania, the Twilight Forrest. As PCs arrive in the morning to take their shift protecting the guildsmen. Suddenly, Cannith Tower shakes as if in the earthquake (which would be logical effect of cutting of the effects of Syrania Manifest Zone, even for a short while). That seases very quickly, but suddenly, all sorts of large plants and trees start growing all over the tower while dinosaurs and carnivorous plants materialise inside the tower. Pandemonium ensues while the PCs try to get to the conference room and escort the guildmasters outside while fighting wild wild beasts, bugs and plants but also with House Cannith protective traps and construtcs already maddened by all the wildlife inside the tower.
Belabras 05-07-06, 01:01 PM	Two words -- Horrid Cockroaches.
jonthegm 05-08-06, 01:50 AM	Two words -- Horrid Cockroaches. Four words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches.
Napoleon98 05-08-06, 03:12 AM	Four words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches. Six words: Fiendish dire horrid cockroaches sounds AWESOME! 3 more words: I want in :D
Glupinickname 05-08-06, 12:28 PM	While we're at it, what monsters could you recommend as opponents for the party? I'm already set on using flesh-eating plants: I even plan on setting a small dungeon crawl in a gigantic glasshouse at top of one of the Sharn towers). Shifter barbarians would be nice as humanoid opponents. And yes, horrid animals will definitely appear. What else? Remember, these adventures are for the 8th level character and will possibly progress up to 10th level during adventures.
Naudachu 05-08-06, 01:24 PM	As far as high level vermin and plants: - some of the larger Monstrous Centipedes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monstrousCentipede.htm) or Monstrous Scorpions (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monstrousScorpion.htm) - maybe a large group of Giant Stag Beetles (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/giantStagBeetle.htm) - a Hellwasp Swarm (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/swarm.htm#hellwaspSwarm) - a couple Tendriculi (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/tendriculos.htm) or Shambling Mounds (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shamblingMound.htm) - a deadly Razorboar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/razorBoar.htm) - a few Spider Eaters (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/spiderEater.htm) ...and that's just from the MMI. I remember an Orcwort tree being in one of the Monster Manuals, but I don't remember the CR. But it would give you hordes of minions for the PCs to wade through. You could even have an Aranea (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/aranea.htm) with some class levels as a villian. EDIT: Vermin are listed at the bottom of this list (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablesort=4). Only a few CR 8-10. Or better yet here (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablesort=4&tablefilter=vermin).